Periodic maintenance and inspection of vehicles are generally considered essential for proper and safe operation and longevity of those vehicles. Relatively recently, vehicle manufacturers have incorporated various types of digital systems into vehicles, for example, on-board computers that monitor vehicle sensors in the engine. The sensors may be sophisticated sensors, for example, oil sensors which actually sense oil degradation. The computers perform various tasks with the aid of the sensors, for example, controlling vehicle alarm systems and driver dashboard components, monitoring the vehicle sensors and diagnosing faults. Using sophisticated sensors such as for example oil degradation sensors, these computers can actually estimate when service is actually needed (thereby potentially relieving a vehicle from the requirement of prophylactic service, e.g., oil changes every six thousand miles irrespective of degradation). Some vehicles have protocols by which diagnosed conditions may be reported to a garage or service entity having special equipment for reading those protocols.
Unfortunately, there are few if any systems for enabling a common consumer to automatically interrogate vehicle status. Even for vehicle owners sophisticated enough to learn about their vehicle and perform routine maintenance, typically such owners are at the mercy of garage owners and vehicle dealers for the diagnosis of more complicated conditions and maintenance. Further still, many vehicle owners have neither the time nor the expertise to reliable perform routine maintenance or detect conditions which require prompt service.
Even assuming that such a system existed, the preference of many consumers is to have others interpret vehicle conditions. That is to say, some vehicle owners are almost indifferent to the status of their vehicle, and rely on professionals to spot problems or diagnose vehicle maintenance conditions.
It would be useful to have a system that permits reporting of a maintenance condition to a vehicle owner. Further still, it would be useful to have a system that notifies a vehicle owner not only of a maintenance condition, but of the name or address of a local garage or dealer that can service the particular maintenance condition. Since the provision and maintenance of such information to the vehicle owner would be expected to have some associated expense, a need exists for a method of meeting that expense, such that vehicle owners do not have to pay extra for such a service. The present invention satisfies these needs and provides further related advantages.